Media designed for distribution over the Internet come in many forms and formats. Media players are software resident on computers that interpret incoming stream media and convert the media into human-perceivable form, i.e., into audio and video form for outputting to a user. What is common to each media player is a uniform media format and a unique user interface.
Because conventional Internet media players have their own unique media formats and user interfaces, in the past, media players have been incompatible. This incompatibility has created a variety of problems. For instance, if a user is sampling radio stations played by different media players, an undesirable amount of time is spent juggling the various players and waiting for them to cue up media. This is not conducive to providing simple background music. Even when the streaming media being downloaded has a universal file format, problems exist because each resident media player competes to register itself as being the owner of a given file format. For instance, almost all media players can play MP3 files as well as the private file format for which the player is expressly designed. When a user downloads streaming media having a particular file format, the user will be queried to download the media player associated with the format of the media. If the user selects to download the media player, the player installer will change the user's file associations. For instance, if a user has been using the WinAMP® media player and decides to receive a Real Network stream of media, the user will be asked if the Real Networks media player should be downloaded. If the user specifies that the Real Networks media player should be downloaded, the Real Networks media player installer will change a user's file associations so that the Real Networks media player will, in the future play every media type saved in the user's file. As a result, the user will lose the use of the WinAMP® media player.
In another scenario, a user may decide to listen to a first streaming media radio station. The user will have to locate the appropriate link and open the necessary media player to launch the application. After managing the windows on the screen to return the user to the “working” window, the user may decide to listen to a second streaming media radio station which may employ a different player. In order to change media players, the user must first open the original player window and activate the stop feature of the player's interface. Then, the user must locate the second streaming media radio station and activate the link to start the second media. If the media player employed by the second streaming media radio station is not installed, activating the link will prompt the user to install a second player. This entire process requires the user to manage multiple windows in order to listen to the second streaming media radio station. If the user forgets to stop the first media player, both media players will play simultaneously, leading to noise. Changing the volume level of one media player may or may not affect the other media player so the user may be forced to separately locate and adjust both players' volume control.
Accordingly, there is a need for a universal media player that improves a user's online media experience and eliminates the burdens discussed above that are placed upon a user when juggling media played by different media players. The present invention is directed to fulfilling this and other needs.